4 Retaining Walls for Silver Spring New School Site

Retaining walls are apparently in vogue in new school construction in Montgomery County. 


The design for the new 640 student 96,475 SF elementary school in Silver Spring contains at least 4 retaining walls. How high will those retaining walls be? 


Anybody's guess. Rumor has it that some will be 14 feet. 


Here is what the Board of Education saw at their meeting to approve the design. Can you see the retaining walls in the artist's renderings? No? 


As a reminder the image above was the surprise retaining wall that appeared at the Cabin John Middle School construction site. That wall has now been cut down and a second wall is to be added behind it. 


How do we know about the retaining walls at the Silver Spring site? Get a magnifying glass ready and we will show you later this week. 


UPDATE: It's 6 not 4 Retaining Walls! See the updated information and the location of the 6 known retaining walls at this school site here. At least 2 of the Retaining Walls are at the entrance to the McKinney Hills school site.  

"county known for its unfriendliness toward charters"

Ehrlich, O'Malley differ slightly on charter schools • Government (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

...Ehrlich, who signed the Maryland Public Charter School Act of 2003 into law, said he would aim to double the number of charter schools and to create a body independent of county school boards that can authorize charters...

...In Montgomery County, Heidi Mordhorst isn't so worried about funding as she is about Global Garden Public Charter School's attempt to be one of the first charter schools in a county known for its unfriendliness toward charters.
Mordhorst is vice president of the board of directors of Global Garden, which currently exists only on paper. This year the school's organizers were denied a charter by the county Board of Education and have appealed the decision to the State Board of Education.
"We believe in public education as a right and a privilege, but we also believe charter schools really are the mechanism by which school reform can be achieved," Mordhorst said.
Some school districts within the state agree, Borinsky said.
"They see that charter schools are just a tool in the toolbox for enhancing the educational experience for children," he said. "They're a permanent fixture in the landscape."Maryland, however, received fewer than 28 of the 40 points possible for this criterion, partially because the state guarantees equitable per-pupil funding but does not currently offer facilities funding to charter schools. Those points pushed Maryland to a sixth-place finish among the 10 winners in the program's second phase.Ehrlich's Roadmap for 2020 includes plans to strengthen the state's weak -- according to charter school advocates -- statute to create bodies independent of county boards of education that can grant charters. These bodies could be universities, non-profits or institutes created for the purpose of authorizing charters, which are notoriously difficult to earn in some well-to-do parts of the state.

Montgomery County, MD Employee Salaries and Overtime Earnings - 2009 | Washington Examiner

The Examiner was able to obtain a list of Montgomery County employees and their salaries. 

Montgomery County, MD Employee Salaries and Overtime Earnings - 2009 | Washington Examiner

Did The Examiner have to pay for this public information? Did it take the County 20 hours to compile the list? 


Remember that it would take MCPS 22 hours to count all of the CONSULTANTS working for MCPS, and 20 hours to compile a list of all employees and their salaries. 


And even though those two pieces of information are public, MCPS would charge a member of the public $787 for the list of public employees and their salaries, and $1,324 for the list of the consultants that MCPS hires and their "fees."


Because we frequently get requests for MCPS salary and consultant information, here is the MCPS response once again. 


MCPS FOIA Staff and Consultants 2010

12 Students Save Monocacy Elementary School

MCPS' Long Term Enrollment Projections for the Poolesville Cluster change once again as Superintendent Weast releases his recommendation for Monocacy Elementary School.  

Superintendent Weast also makes clear he sees no reason to protect an elementary school in the Agricultural Reserve of Montgomery County, Maryland. But this is Superintendent Weast's last school year in MCPS and the next Superintendent may have a different perspective on preserving public schools in rural areas. 

Superintendent Weast says Poolesville Elementary School has "reversed the downward trend" in enrollment. See the chart supplied with Superintendent Weast's memo. Poolesville Elementary went from 387 students last year to 399 students this year, and that was enough to save Monocacy Elementary School! 

Superintendent’s Recommendation for Poolesville and Monocacy Elementary Schools

This fall, the enrollment at Poolesville Elementary School has reversed the downward trend that had been evident in the past at the school....

...As a result of the enrollment growth now projected for Poolesville Elementary School, I am recommending that Monocacy Elementary School remain an operating school for the foreseeable future...

...The Report of the Poolesville-Monocacy Roundtable Discussion Group included a request that the Board of Education institute a policy that specifically would accept lower enrollment levels at schools in the Agricultural Reserve. The only school that is located in the Agricultural Reserve with a service area completely within the Agricultural Reserve is Monocacy Elementary School.

John Poole Middle School, Poolesville Elementary School, and Poolesville High School are located within the incorporated area of the Town of Poolesville, an area that is surrounded by the Agricultural Reserve but is exempt from the development restrictions of the Agricultural Reserve.

Schools that have portions of their service areas in the Agricultural Reserve include Damascus, Laytonsville, Little Bennett, and Poolesville elementary schools; John T. Baker, John Poole, and Rocky Hill middle schools; and Clarksburg, Damascus, and Poolesville high schools.

While I understand the interest in formally exempting Monocacy Elementary School from the minimum desired enrollment standards, I do not support a Board of Education policy to accomplish this special consideration. Such a policy would only apply to Monocacy Elementary School because it is the only school physically located in the Agricultural Reserve. Board of Education policies should not be written for individual cases, such as that of Monocacy Elementary School. In addition, exceptions to preferred enrollment levels already are evident in a number of schools that either are below these desired enrollment levels or above them. The minimum and maximum enrollments are described as “preferred,” not mandatory. (link added to blog post)

New Middle School Proposed for BCC Cluster

Superintendent’s Recommendation on the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster Roundtable Discussion Group

...I am recommending that Grade 6 students at Chevy Chase and North Chevy Chase elementary schools be reassigned to the middle school level as soon as a new middle school can be opened in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster. To accomplish this, I am recommending that a site selection committee be formed in winter 2011 to identify a location for a new middle school in the Bethesda- Chevy Chase Cluster. This new middle school would provide the capacity needed to relieve Westland Middle School’s overutilization and enable the Grade 6 students from Chevy Chase and North Chevy Chase elementary schools to be assigned to a middle school. The site selection committee will include representatives from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster and MCPS Department of Facilities Management staff. The committee will be charged with identifying a suitable site for a new middle school in a centralized location...

News Flash: State Board Investigates Curricular Fees

State Board of Education scrutinizing school fees
After California lawsuit, superintendents asked to clarify policies

 by Andrew Ujifusa | Staff Writer

In a Sept. 28 letter to the 24 public school superintendents in Maryland, state board President James H. DeGraffenreidt Jr. asked them to send the board information about their school systems' policies on charging course-related fees, a list of course-related fees imposed by each school, whether fees can be waived and a description of the waiver process.

"Maryland has a free public education responsibility," DeGraffenreidt wrote in his one-page letter.

--------------------

 The president of the Maryland State Board of Education is gathering information on classroom fees in public schools, in light of a California lawsuit about what a free public education really means.

In a Sept. 28 letter to the 24 public school superintendents in Maryland, state board President James H. DeGraffenreidt Jr. asked them to send the board information about their school systems' policies on charging course-related fees, a list of course-related fees imposed by each school, whether fees can be waived and a description of the waiver process.

"Maryland has a free public education responsibility," DeGraffenreidt wrote in his one-page letter. "Because this is a difficult economic time for school systems and families, school fees may become an issue of concern."

DeGraffenreidt could not be reached for further comment. The deadline for superintendents to respond to his letter is Nov. 30.

Patricia B. O'Neill, president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, and John Woolums, director of government relations for the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, said that in a meeting with county board presidents, DeGraffenreidt indicated his concern extended to fees charged for extracurricular activities. The letter does not mention extracurricular fees.

Woolums said he was unaware of any Maryland statute or regulation specifically addressing either kind of fee. No uniform policy among Maryland school systems exists either, he said.

"Get your ducks in a row, and be prepared to explain the reasonableness of what you're doing," Woolums said in explaining MABE's advice to its members.

DeGraffenreidt indicated that "advocates from Montgomery County" brought the issue to his attention, O'Neill said.

Janis Sartucci, a member of the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, a group that has been critical of Montgomery County Public Schools on a number of issues, said the group began telling state officials in 2008 that the school system was violating the state constitution by charging course fees.

In January 2009, Montgomery County Public Schools agreed to cut the number of classroom fees it would charge. Fees for science lab supplies, instruction workbooks and gym towels were cut, but remained in place for art courses where student projects would be taken home. The school system's policy does not outline how much the various remaining fees should be. Students may obtain a waiver for course fees.

Montgomery school officials said they would provide $1.53 million to various schools to help them cover fees that otherwise could have been assessed. Before the change, different high schools were charging different fees for the same course, documents showed.

"Based upon the advice of our attorneys, we believe that what we are doing complies with the law," O'Neill said.

Sartucci has challenged the school system's fee policy twice before the state Board of Education and said she plans to return later this month to raise the matter again.

"Apparently, now DeGraffenreidt is taking matters into his own hands. I'm thrilled; I'm very excited to hear this," Sartucci said.

Montgomery County Public Schools charges a $30 extracurricular fee per school year per student, regardless of the nature or number of those activities. The fee can be lowered to $15 based on family income. O'Neill said the fees do not pay for all the costs of the activities.

"I would hate to see sports go away because it is a hook that keeps many kids engaged, provides opportunities for some kids to go to college on college scholarships," O'Neill said.

Sartucci, however, argued O'Neill was trying to mislead people into believing programs such as football and other sports could be removed from schools as a result of DeGraffenreidt's findings. She said her advocacy has not dealt with extracurricular fees.

The Howard County Public School System placed a moratorium on schools requesting payment for curricular, activity and supply fees in October 2008, and current policy states students may not be charged any classroom fees. Extracurricular fees may be charged for personalized items such as football uniforms, and for extracurricular items students keep after their participation is complete.

A March 2009 Howard County schools staff report on activity fees remarked that elementary and middle schools that did collect activity fees used them in several ways and differed in what they asked parents to supply students.

"Inconsistencies prevail from one school to another in both fees and supply lists," the report states.

It also pointed out fees were not uniform across schools, and paid for everything from news magazine subscriptions to calculators and workbooks.

The report cited a 1987 opinion from the state Attorney General's Office that said in part, "We are safe in saying that anything directly related to a school's curriculum must be available to all without charge."

The California lawsuit DeGraffenreidt referenced in his letter was filed Sept. 10 by the American Civil Liberties Union against the state and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).

It followed an ACLU report entitled "Pay-To-Learn" that identified 50 California school districts that the organization claimed charged illegal educational fees to students. The fees were charged for materials for fine arts classes, textbooks, lab privileges in science classes and extracurricular activities, the ACLU said.

The Lost School Planning Process

In light of the recent issues surrounding school construction projects, including the surprise 14 foot retaining wall and hundreds of thousands of dollars* in damages to neighbors' property, here is a little history lesson from 2005 when Montgomery County citizens lost significant input into school construction decisions. 

In 1986, the Montgomery County Board of Education enacted a comprehensive Long Range Planning Process. The Policy, listed as Policy FAA, was crafted after extensive community input over an extended period of time. The late Councilmember Marilyn Praisner was on the Board of Education when that 1986 Policy was passed.

But when Superintendent Jerry Weast rode into town, he wasn't so keen on following those 21 pages of Board Policy. And so in 2005 the Board of Education, including current President Patricia O'Neill, gutted the Policy and reduced the 21 pages to 5. 

       Councilmember Marilyn Praisner was not pleased and wrote a letter to the Board of Education. From the April 20, 2005 Gazette article on the Policy change:

County Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton was a school board member when the current policy was adopted in 1986 after a series of meetings with the community and the council of PTAs. "It was a real concerted effort on the part of the board to place a great deal of clarity and transparency into the facility planning process," she said.

Praisner said the "overarching implications" of the policy -- which can affect issues from land use to budgets -- prompted her to write a letter to the board. 

"I don't think the board appreciates the history of the policy," she said. 

The policy was written when the county was closing schools and community input was just as important as it is now, as the county builds new schools and reopens some of the very same schools it closed in the 1970s and 1980s, Praisner said.

What did Montgomery County citizens, parents and students lose when Policy FAA was gutted in 2005? Take a look. Below is what the Policy looked like up until 2005. Then you can read today's 5 page version here.  

The bottom line is that the bulk of school facility planning has been turned over to the Superintendent. Many school facility decisions are now made out of the public view. 

Maybe someday the original 21 page Policy FAA, with all of its community input and transparency will be revived, and MCPS school construction projects will stop "surprising" parents, students, teachers, neighbors, and communities. 

   Policy FAA 2003 Version by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

*see comment below

Kudos to Principal Darlene Simmons

The Parents' Coalition has looked at a lot of school audits over the years. We have even set up a web page and posted all of the audits that we have obtained. And we have written about the State Audit of MCPS. 


But in all of the school audits we have read, we have never seen a perfect one. Until now. 


Congratulations to Principal Darlene Simmons on a perfect Audit from the Office of Legislative Audits, Department of Legislative Services of the Maryland General Assembly on the John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (also known as RICA).


Imagine if all Montgomery County Public Schools had an audit that said:

"Our audit did not disclose any findings that warrant mention in this report."

Pat O'Neill Sends "smoke signal" on Budget to County Council

MontCo schools expecting enrollment to jump by 10,000 | Washington Examiner

School board President Patricia O'Neill said agreeing on an operating budget would be more challenging than lobbying for state money because "anyone who thinks we can get away with less [funding] is smoking something."

Read more HERE:

Audubon Naturalist Society Protests School Plan

Below is a letter to MCPS from the Audubon Naturalist Society protesting the planned construction at the McKenney Hills Elementary School site. 


It looks like MCPS is attempting to put one of Superintendent Weast's super-sized elementary schools on a small school site. The Audubon Naturalist Society is protesting the forest conservation plan. 


Gone are the days when school sizes were set by the Board of Education. Now Superintendent Weast is free to put a 750 - 1,000 student elementary school on a site that previously would have educated half as many students. 

7oct2010cameronltrtokarmckenneyhills

Is Michelle Rhee Headed For the Door?

Is Michelle Rhee Headed For the Door?

MoCo's Version of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

School fees are alive and well in Montgomery County Public Schools.

Look no further than Richard Montgomery, one of the gems in the school system, home to the very successful International Baccalaureate Program.

Seniors are once again charged a graduation "fee" for the privilege of attending the school.

What's in the fee?  Who knows.  Why does the fee increase after winter break?

Don't ask. Here is a link to the school's webpage with the fees. 

SeniorFee_RMHS


Notice something missing? Who is in charge? No letterhead, no signature, just drop a check off before winter break to save a penalty.

This fee is illegal, plain and simple. The state of Maryland guarantees a free public education for students.

Does the fee include something reasonable like a cap/gown? Maybe, but maybe not. Can't the students borrow a robe from a sibling? At Richard Montgomery, all the students wear black robes, tassels cost $5.

But - unless a parent is willing to challenge this fee or any of the myriad other illegal fees charged to students across the county through the judicial system, the practice continues. Students at Richard Montgomery, as other schools across the county, will be subject to repeated instances of educational extortion.

Kudos to Judge Virginia Phillips who showed extraordinary courage today in striking down the military version of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." 

Board of Education Inventory of Available School Sites

The October 12, 2010, Board of Education meeting discussed MCPS enrollment and the upcoming classroom needs of MCPS. 


Board member Laura Berthiaume asked for the list of available school sites. The list of MCPS Real Estate Inventory is on the MCPS website and shows available school sites for expansion of current MCPS facilities.  [6/20/12  MCPS has removed this document from their website.  If you want to see the list of MCPS Real Estate holdings you will have to use our copy of the list at this link.]


What the Board of Education didn't discuss, and never has discussed, is how Superintendent Weast has taken at least one surplus school site and turned it into a cell phone tower compound. See image of cell towers next to this text. That is the Woodwards Road Elementary School site. That site is vacant land held in trust for the use of public school children. But Superintendent Weast has put a cell phone tower compound on the land instead of a school. 


If that school site is now needed for a school, who is going to kick the cell towers off the property? 

Weast tells State: Regs Could Have Negative Impact on Teacher Evaluation System

Please note that this letter from Superintendent Jerry Weast to the Maryland State Department of Education does not appear to have been copied to the Board of Education. If you know a Board of Education member you might want to send them a copy as a FYI. 

August 30, 2010 Weast to MSDE

$202,300 for Promethean Bulbs

It's that time of year again! It's October and time to change the bulb in the Promethean Board projectors. 


But wasn't it just 6 months ago that MCPS got in an order of $36,000 worth of Promethean projector bulbs from Clinton Learning Solutions? 


Yes it was! And now 6 months later MCPS apparently needs another $202,300 worth of Promethean projector bulbs. 


This time MCPS claims to have received 12 bids on this contract. Clinton Learning Solutions got the contract again. We don't know what Clinton Learning Solutions charges MCPS per projector bulb.  


Replacement bulb prices range from $296 to $550. MCPS will need to replace all 3,300+ bulbs in the next year or two based on the average life of a projector bulb. That's over $1 million in bulb purchases that will need to be funded. 


It is unknown how many total Promethean Boards exist in MCPS today. Last the public knew there were over 3,300 Boards. Payment information only exists on the 2,600 Promethean Boards, the others arrived in MCPS without public disclosure.


How many Promethean projector bulbs will the Board of Education be buying for $202,300?


683? 367? Take your best guess. The Board of Education has this on their Consent Agenda for Tuesday, October 13, 2010 and won't be discussing the details. 

Celebrate National Coming Out Day

You gotta give ‘em hope.
Harvey Milk

Today is National Coming Out Day across the nation and in fact is celebrated across the world. I want to take this opportunity to publicize Dan Savage’s new “It Gets Better’ project. According to Savage, a nationally syndicated columnist, he started the project after the death of Billy Lucas, who committed suicide.

Here is text from his September 23rd, 2010 column:

Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.

Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.

"My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better."

I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.

Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.

So here's what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.

I've launched a channel on YouTube—www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don't dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we've gone and things we've experienced—that we would've missed out on if we'd killed ourselves then.

"You gotta give 'em hope," Harvey Milk said.

Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.

The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I'd like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "^&*, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them.

They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.

Board of Education and public kept in dark on Pearson deal

Grant application reveals that Superintendent Weast collaborated with Pearson on curriculum in 2009

Analysis of the MCPS Investing in Innovation (i3) grant application reveals that Superintendent Weast and Pearson, LLC had collaborated since 2009 to design the North Star project, contrary to previous reports.

With no advance notice to the public, the deal between MCPS and Pearson was added to the Board of Education meeting agenda as a consent item in June.  With little time to study the contract, the BOE voted to approve the deal and sell the MCPS curriculum to Pearson.

The Washington Post reported in June that the "school system had independently embarked on developing the curriculum" and that the "school system did not submit the curriculum contract to a competitive bidding process and made it public only on the day before the Tuesday vote."

See Section (G)(1) (page 23) in the i3 Grant Application for details about the collaboration that began in 2009.

[Update:  September 2010:  Maryland State Board of Education Slams BOE for Pearson deal.]
MCPS i3 Grant Application

Durso Comments on MoCo Demographic Changes, Test Scores | Washington Examiner

Md. districts remain on top after demo changes | Washington Examiner

"Montgomery school board member Michael Durso said he has "never seen [shifting demographics] as a valid argument" for Montgomery's decreasing performance relative to other Maryland districts.

"We seem to argue it both ways -- in one breath we will say that race and socioeconomic status are not going to be impediments to achievement, but when areas come up that could be interpreted as lagging, we immediately go to demographics as the cause," Durso said. "Most areas are facing the same situation, and it's our role to deal with all students."

"There's a fine line," he said, "between saying it presents a challenge and using it as an excuse for lack of progress.""

Read more at the Washington Examiner HERE

Durso: "Perhaps the tenure of the superintendent has been maybe longer than it should have been"

MontCo, Fairfax no longer top performers | Washington Examiner

Highlights:
(...)

"And although scores improved since 2003 on the Maryland State Assessments, Montgomery ranked significantly lower among districts in 2010 on both math and reading in elementary and middle schools. For instance, Montgomery's eighth-grade students placed second in the state on the math exam in 2003; by 2010, they were 10th."

(...)

"Montgomery school board member Michael Durso was less forgiving of the disparity between the data and his district's gold-standard reputation, calling for an independent review of the school system. "The reputation of the school system, and the reporting of statistics and test scores, have been more tied into the personality and the image of [Superintendent Jerry Weast] as our leader, than the students and teachers who are impacted even more," Durso said. "We always haven't been as candid about some of our shortcomings, as opposed to publishing our positives.""

(...)
Read more HERE.

(ps: Don't miss the recent Washington Post opinion piece where Jerry Weast and Pat O'Neill refer to the Maryland School Assessments and the High School Assessments as "poorly constructed tests of questionable reliability or purpose.")

Hearing on MCPS Ban of Vegetable Gardens to be held Oct. 12th

Vegetable Gardens on MCPS grounds Hearing at County Council